Commander: Stay the course in war on terrorism

[Soldier4Christ]

 Thomas L. Bock, national commander of the American Legion, was in town Wednesday with an entourage of state and national leaders to stop by No-Vel 159 Post for a meet-and-greet with members.

The Venice post, with 2,800 members is one of the larger ones in Southwest Florida, surpassing that of Sarasota.

Bock, on a four-day tour of Florida VA hospitals and Legion posts, took the opportunity to update local veterans about his travels throughout the country and a worldwide tour visiting troops overseas in places such as Baghdad, Okinawa, the Korean DMZ and Guantanamo Bay.

His message: Stay the course on the war on terrorism.

Bitter lesson

For Bock, it's all about Resolution 169, passed at the 87th national convention of the American Legion in Honolulu on Aug. 25.

The resolution outlines the American Legion's support for the war on terrorism. It urges all Americans to stand united in their support for the war on terrorism, and authorizes the national commander "to engage in whatever means necessary to ensure the united support of the American people."

For Bock, that means straight talk about the news media's coverage of the war.

The resolution "empowers us to unite Americans to back our troops and win the war," Bock said. "We remember the 1960s and 1970s. We don't want that to happen again."

Bock dismisses protesters of the war on terrorism who try to "separate the war from the warrior" by saying they support troops but not the war in Iraq.

He believes '60s protesters never successfully made the separation, treating war veterans with disdain upon their return from Vietnam. Bock hears the same arguments being made again, with potentially the same deadly results for servicemen and freedom-fighters overseas.

"The bitter deadly lesson is that the truth was never told after the (Vietnam) war protesters overtook our media and sabotaged home-front determination to succeed," he wrote shortly after becoming national commander.

The record

Bock wants to set the record straight now that he has personally seen the war in Iraq. In addition to visiting with service members, Bock spoke with Gen. George W. Casey and members of the Kirkuk city council.

"I thought the news media was not giving us the whole story. Now, I know they're not," he said.

Casey reported 15 of 18 districts in Iraq have less than five reportable incidents each day. That's a far cry from the news media image of a country (in the throes of a civil war), he said.

"The country of Iraq is doing well. They are proud of their freedom. They just need us to stay the course and give them time to complete the transformation," Bock said.

"They're not ignorant people. They're intelligent. Many have been educated in the United States. They told us to take this message back to Americans: One, thanks for your cooperation in securing our freedom; two, don't leave too soon because the job isn't done; and three, be patient because we are creating a new democracy, and we don't really know what we are doing.

"They wanted to make sure ... our young men know they are very much appreciated," Bock said.

"Gen. Casey said 2006 is the Year of the Police Force in Iraq. Remember, they've never had the cop on the street corner. If you upset Saddam's army -- pow, you were dead. But this police force is made up of volunteers. That's its weak point. People can easily infiltrate it and undermine the public's confidence. ... They are developing trust and that takes time."

Nuts

Bock also took shots at the United Nations for its treatment of the U.S. war on terrorism, and at the American Civil Liberties Union.

"The U.N. is all (a bunch) of nuts... . America is not the bad guy. Terrorists are the bad guys," he said.

"There is an attack on American values by the ACLU," Bock went on. "Now the ACLU is telling us that Boy Scouts are evil ... And they've attacked the Ten Commandments," Bock said, referring to the group's threat to file a lawsuit against the Fairfax, Minn., school board if it continued with its Veterans Day program that begins with prayer.

"Because of our religious leanings, the school district didn't bring in our program last year," Bock said. The program was held, but off school grounds.

The American Legion is supporting House Bill 2679 by Rep. John Hostettler from Indiana, which Bock said would eliminate attorney's fee awards in such cases.

"The ACLU has staff who are already paid. They put those fees in their back pocket and use them to attack another American value at another time," he said.

Bock also reviewed the American Legion's effort to thwart cutbacks in veteran benefits by Congress.

"Why not make Veterans Affairs a Medicare provider? We've been harping on this for years," he said. "We want a fully funded VA."